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Digital Audio Optical Toslink Cables

Two Connections are widely used for connecting Digital Audio 1) Coaxial: Cable and connectors are 75 ohm impedance and used to connect Blu Ray and DVD players, Compact Disk (CD) and some DAT recorders to multichannel surround sound (Dolby Digital, DTS, etc) equipment. It uses RCA connectors on Consumer equipment and BNC's for Pro equipment. 2) Toslink is a fiber optic version of the coaxial digital audio connection and is used in the same applications as coax. Invented by Toshiba, Toslink stands for Toshiba Link. Most newer equipment has a Toslink optical connection. Both Types Support 5.1 Digital Audio Surround sound Audio Formats: Dolby Digital, DTS, PCM, LPCM

How to choose a Toslink Cable:

• A well assembled Toslink Optical cable is not hard to make, as long as it is not too long. Use a good size core of proper quality POF cable, cut, polish and terminate. As long as all this is done well, it should work very well. Long lengths and Connector choices are where it gets interesting. For long lengths, and that means somewhere between 10-30 feet, you have to upgrade the POF "conductor" to higher grade acrylics or even glass fibers.

• Connectors in this case are not electrical and should only be considered on their physical characteristics. Heavier connectors tend to be more immune to vibration. Heavier cable and jacket are best in this case to add to the vibrational immunity. The other scenario for a heavier connector is when a receiver is on the same stand as the center speaker - so that vibration can effect the toslink connector, then a heavy, solid connector is desirable.Light, plastic, small connectors are sometimes best with older components with worn Toslink connectors. The less weight in a worn connector, the less likely to be jostled loose enough to skew off of center. Light, flexible cable is the best match for this scenario. In any case, a good, quality made connector will more precisely fit, so will reduce your risk of digital errors.